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Pa. chief justice will get briefing on explicit emails

Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ron Castille on Friday will find out more about whether bawdy e-mails traded among current and former state employees went all the way to the state judiciary.

Jim Koval, a spokesman for Castille, said the chief justice will meet with an agent from Democratic Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office. Castille requested more information specific to any “top jurists” who sent or received sexually explicit e-mails in a letter to Kane two weeks ago.

Castille is less interested in any lewd photos swapped and more concerned about fraternization between judges and state prosecutors, said Koval.

Kane’s office has said dozens more current employees of her office participated in the exchange but cannot be named, not even to Castille, due to union agreements and personnel rules.

Four of the eight men who were named by Kane in the bawdy e-mail ring have resigned from posts in the public and private sector, including a state cabinet secretary, a top state lawyer, a county prosecutor, and a lawyer with a private firm.

Governor Corbett has urged appointee Randy Feathers to resign from the state Board of Probation and Parole. Feathers has resisted, asking first for an independent investigation. Corbett has not formally asked the state Senate to remove Feathers.

Kane’s office uncovered the e-mails, which had been deleted, in the course of her review of the Jerry Sandusky prosecution. Martin, her spokeswoman, has said forensic experts cannot determine if the e-mails were ever opened. E-mails shared with reporters and the governor’s administration make it clear that at least some of the eight men named did send and respond to certain messages.

Update: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Chief Justice Ron Castille oversees the Judicial Conduct Board. The board is independent of the state judiciary.